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I visited the original Saltie Girl in Boston last year, beckoned by the restaurant’s sexy red-head mascot (think pin-up Ariel) and the promise of quality seafood in the city. But all I remember is being sorely disappointed. The millennial pink walls were tired and in dire need of repainting; the prices were eye-watering and the expectation to tip generously hung over me and my emptying bank account like a dark cloud; and worst of all, the food was deeply mediocre. Never mind, though. I chalked it up to the misfortune of having been had by trendiness. Saltie Girl became but a distant memory – until earlier this year, when I discovered it had opened a branch in Mayfair. Experience meant I was immediately sceptical. The original restaurant had been so forgettable, why should this one be any different? In addition, it’s in Mayfair, where the only memorable thing about so many restaurants is the fact that they are seriously overpriced. I suppose if your clientele have enough money to throw around that they don’t really care about how anything tastes, it’s fair play. But it was certainly enough to make me question whether it would be worth going. At the same time, I was curious to see how the new place would compare. Perhaps Saltie Girl could redeem itself on British shores? Maybe I wouldn’t leave a sad salty seadog, but instead a happy clam? There was only one way to find out. On my way into Saltie Girl, I make a mental note about the Mayfair Chippy next door, which has a huge line out the door. If tinned fish and lobster rolls don’t fill me, this place will surely do the trick. It turns out I needn’t have worried, but I will most certainly be thinking of the Mayfair Chippy the next time I’m in town. Every surface in the shiny, new Saltie Girl is, well, shiny and new. It’s a far cry from the despondency of the Boston establishment, but I’m not letting myself get distracted by the newness of it all. Nevertheless, it was pretty and highly Instagrammable, and full. Cost of living woes do not exist in Mayfair, judging by this crowd: a gaggle of wealthy blonde women celebrating a birthday, a well-to-do couple on their anniversary dinner, a group of finance colleagues sinking cocktails and gossiping about their co-workers. One of the restaurant’s main attractions is its extensive list of tinned fish. These aren’t just any tinned fish (Forget John West; even Brindisa Ortiz, the staple of London’s tinned fish lovers, is too low down the ladder to be served here). These are £16 anchovies, £14 sardines, £16 trout, and £34 clams in sealed metal boxes that are pried open and served on a board with French bread and butter, three types of salt and pickled peppers. And they are utterly delicious. We had smoked anchovies in EVOO from Spain, which were salty, fatty and perfect. A New England lobster roll with house-made crisps are a must-have, and the price varies according to market rates. But don’t fret – you can guarantee that you’ll be paying a premium price. Just look at where you are. If you still require an indication, keep in mind that the lobster waffle is £32 and lobster frites are £65. Make of that what you will. At least there’s no going wrong with heavily buttered lobster in a bun, and the restaurant is fairly generous with the filling so you don’t feel like you’ve been shortchanged too much. We also share the dover sole meuniere, a classic dish of delicate, scrape-off-the-bones dover sole in a brown butter and caper sauce. Hispi cabbage and jersey royal potatoes make for some lovely sides, but then again, everything is better doused in butter. Overall, the meal was certainly better than the one I had in Boston (I’m talking about you, ultra-dry Saltie Girl Burger) and I enjoyed listening to salacious workplace gossip from the table next to us while savouring my half of the lobster roll. There were a couple of hiccups with service: waiters forgetting our drinks, our sides and to ask us for our dessert order. This soured the experience a little – at the price customers are expected to shell out for a tin of clams, you would’ve thought that staff training would be a priority. I left Saltie Girl feeling closer to happy clam than salty seadog – but unless I win the lottery or someone else is paying, I’ll probably stick to the Mayfair Chippy. Saltie Girl, 15 N Audley St, London, W1K 6WZ | saltiegirl.com | 020 3893 3000 Read More These recipes will keep you hydrated on hot days Three tomato salad recipes that aren’t boring Try one of these pasta recipes this British Tomato Fortnight Uncorked: How do I keep my wine cool at a picnic? How to make chocolate chip cookies on the BBQ How to master BBQ chicken wings

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Daniel Ricciardo has said he needed to fall back in love with Formula One before taking the opportunity to return to racing with AlphaTauri. The eight-time grand prix winner has not driven in anger since he was axed by McLaren at the end of last season, but will make a surprise return to the grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix next week after replacing Nyck De Vries at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri. The 34-year-old Australian’s career looked to be all but over after he was deemed surplus to requirements by McLaren following two underwhelming seasons with the British team. Ricciardo did return to Red Bull as a reserve driver, but said he needed the enforced time off to ask himself if he really did want to return to racing. “Falling out of love with it took a hit on my confidence and of course if you’re competing in a sport where you’re trying to be the best at something, the best in the world at something, obviously you need full confidence and belief,” Ricciardo said in an interview on F1’s YouTube channel. “When that starts to diminish a bit, your enjoyment drops a bit as well. There’s a lot of factors. Getting back to Red Bull, just the reception I had walking back into that team was in a positive way a little bit overwhelming. “Getting back on the sim, I was a bit unsure how it was going to go, if the car would feel like it used to, if I was going to be like – for the lack of better words – ‘the old me’. “But once I’d done a few sim sessions and started feeling like myself again it brought me back to normal Daniel where I was falling back in love and ready to go again.” Ricciardo said attending the Super Bowl in Arizona in February reminded him of the buzz of a competitive environment, while being at his home grand prix in Melbourne and then the Monaco race helped him get the Formula One bug back. “I’ve enjoyed these six months off and it was really good for me but the more races I started to attend, the more sims I’ve started to do, I was getting the bug back. And then jumping in the car a few days ago I thought, ‘Oh yeah’. It all felt very normal, very familiar… “I didn’t really need to think too much about (accepting the call to return). I think being back in this family, I’m kind of going through it all again…there was no question I was going to say yes.” Ricciardo said joining AlphaTauri for the rest of the season was like going “full circle” given he raced the team, then known as Toro Rosso, in 2012 and 2013, after starting his F1 career with HRT Racing in 2011. AlphaTauri sit last in the constructor’s championship after the opening 10 races of the season and Ricciardo is under no illusions that he will be racing a top-end car any time soon. “I’m excited about it,” he said. “It’s a challenge for sure to jump in and try to hit the ground running. But also I guess I feel like I’ve been through a lot in the last few years where I’m not really scared of anything that’s going to be thrown my way – so I actually really do like the challenge. “It will be a challenge but I don’t know if I’d have it any other way.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How does Max Verstappen and Red Bull compare to the greats of Formula One? Lando Norris ‘honoured’ to join Lewis Hamilton in battle for Formula One glory Lando Norris calls finishing runner-up at British Grand Prix ‘pretty insane’

Max Verstappen took pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix despite an X-rated radio row with his race engineer. Verstappen was embroiled in a squabble with Gianpiero Lambiase after he only just made it through to Q3 during a wet-dry session at Spa-Francorchamps. But the championship leader regained his composure at the business end of qualifying to demolish the opposition, finishing eight tenths clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with Sergio Perez third in the other Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth. However, Verstappen will only start Sunday’s race from sixth position as he serves a five-place grid drop for exceeding his gearbox allocation. Follow live updates from the Belgian Grand Prix with The Independent Read More Carlos Sainz interview: ‘All of us at Ferrari expected more – we haven’t done the best job’ Daniel Ricciardo is back - and this time he wants to go out on top Max Verstappen receives penalty for Belgian Grand Prix

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To beat summer heat, wine lovers often turn to vinho verde, a light, refreshing wine from northern Portugal that has enjoyed a boomlet the past few years. One sign of its popularity – several local wineries are producing their own “verde-style” wines with the hallmarks of sharp acidity and slight carbonation. But what exactly is this “green wine”? Here are five things to know about this popular summer sip. 1. The name There’s no agreed on explanation for the name, which apparently evolved around the 17th century when the wines were first exported to Britain. It could be a reference to the “green” underripe flavours of tart apples and lime blossom in the very fresh, raw wine. It could also refer to the lush green landscape of the Minho region in northwestern Portugal, where the Atlantic Ocean’s maritime influence produces a climate and terroir starkly different from the parched Mediterranean lands in the Algarve to the south. The Portuguese pronunciation is VEEN-yo VER-da, with the last syllable all but swallowed. If, like most people, you pronounce it VEE-no VERD-ee, the Portuguese winemakers will not complain. They will smile politely, pocket your cash and be happy you are enjoying their wine. Green wine comes in white, pink and red (sorry, I couldn’t resist). Very little red is produced. Both the whites and rosés are notable for tart acidity (those green flavours) and a slight spritz of carbonation, which combine to make them refreshing, especially in hot weather. They are intended to be enjoyed, not aged. In fact, many are not even vintage-dated because they’re not expected to last long enough for the year to be relevant. So drink up! 2. The region and the grapes Vinho verde is Portugal’s largest demarcated wine region, or appellation (though the administrative region is called Minho). There are nine subzones which generally do not appear on wine labels but may become increasingly important as winemakers explore different expressions of vinho verde. The main grapes are alvarinho (familiar to us as albariño) and loureiro, a crisp white often compared to riesling. There are several other varieties that are even harder to pronounce and noteworthy only if you are keeping track of varieties you’ve tasted. Alvarinho dominates the blends in the north (where the Minho borders Spain’s Rias Baixas region), and loureiro is more prominent further south. 3. That spritz Vinho verde has been exported at least since the 17th century. Back in the day, the wine’s signature spritz resulted from a little bit of sugar remaining as the wines were rushed into bottle before fermentation had finished. Today, the bubbles are added artificially by carbonation before bottling. The level of carbonation is up to the producer – some vinho verde can be quite fizzy, while others gently tickle the palate. 4. You can use it in cocktails Vinho verde’s fizz and still relatively low price make it an ideal foil for your summer mixology efforts. An ice cube, slice of lime and a splash of gin make a nice spritzer. It can also be a great base for sangria. 5. New styles are evolving While we think of vinho verde as a simple, enjoyable starter wine for a summer repast, some winemakers are producing more serious versions. These are usually made from a single variety (such as alvarinho or loureiro) and labelled with the vintage. Some producers are bottling single-vineyard wines to highlight a site’s granite or schist soils. “The wines are changing and moving forward with an international, incredibly bright and pure style,” says Eugénio Jardim, the brand ambassador for Wines of Portugal. He cited Anselmo Mendes and Quinta da Soalheiro as pioneers of this new style. “This is a region in flux, with the quality of wines soaring in recent years,” Jardim tells me. “This is not a one-note region.” © The Washington Post Read More Sierra Nevada lakes change more in past 100 years than three millennia How the climate crisis played a role in fueling Hurricane Ida Against the odds: The fight to save sea turtles in Ras Baridi The Norwegian sparkling wine aged at the bottom of the sea The curious history of sauvignon blanc – and what to drink if you hate it The Independent Wine Club best cases 2023: Wine from small growers

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